[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
There’s been a lot of discussion about just how bad the Prime’s GPS is, especially for navigation, with some folks claiming theirs is “working.” There have even been claims it works in a moving car and someone posted this pic as proof.

Six out of nine satellites with a 90’ accuracy while the Prime is completely horizontal on the dashboard and smashed forward against the windshield is piss poor and by no means a realistic example. If that’s the best it can do, it’s unusable for navigation. And that’s using GPS Test, not real navigation s/w.

I took these three vids today using a G-Tab to show what navigation typically looks like. I use navigation a lot while traveling and the Zoom and Jetstream perform identically. In other words there’s nothing special about the G-Tab or its performance in these videos. And I intentionally used different routes that changed directions so that no one can say "but..." Navigation shouldn’t be hard and you should never have to question its performance. It should just work. This also isn't to show how great the G-Tab is, but to help you guys understand what your expectations should be of GPS and navigation on a tablet, any tablet.

CoPilot

1)	Cold Boot

2)	Flight Mode On

[YOUTUBE]l7n8hXODIB8[/YOUTUBE]

CoPilot doesn’t require either a 3G or Wi-Fi connection to work at any time. All the data it relies on is stored locally. In this example the G-Tab ran solely on its stand-alone GPS from start to finish. The G-Tab’s sitting on the passenger seat which is where it usually is when I use it rental cars on the road. The direction it’s facing changes numerous times so its ability to maintain a satellite fix isn’t dependent on being in a particular position. At 2:35 you’ll see it navigate an S turn. If accuracy was any higher than 15’ that would be impossible. Throughout the video you’ll see how accurately it keeps position and changes direction as the car does. At 6:19 I intentionally go off route. It corrects so quickly you have to look at the orientation of Ash Street to even notice. The same thing happens again at 7:50. And for the finale you can see the tablet fall off the seat of the car in a turn. G-Tab’s are sturdy.

Google Navigation 1

1)	Cold Boot

2)	3G On (to download route guidance)

3)	Start Google Navigation

4)	3G Off

[YOUTUBE]JA97Hu-RNHk[/YOUTUBE]

The maps are cached but Google Navigation needs to download the driving directions via 3G or Wi-Fi. Once downloaded it can navigate from GPS alone. That’s what this vid shows. You can see how accurate the positioning is based on how well Google Nav keeps up with the car’s position; especially approaching turns. The car changes position multiple times and you can see it passing under bridges and overpasses without losing the signal. At 4:19 watch how accurately it navigates a curve. At 5:18 watch the car’s position change at a turn and how well Google Nav keeps up with it.

Google Navigation 2

1)	Cold Boot

2)	Flight Mode On

3)	GPS Test (1:10 – 1:45, 10 out of 10 satellites and 15’ accuracy in 35 seconds)

4)	Flight Mode Off

5)	Google Nav downloads driving directions

6)	Flight Mode On

[YOUTUBE]FNmY8KeOVxc[/YOUTUBE]

Like the first Google Nav vid, it never misses a beat. But why would it? It’s maintaining 15’ accuracy consistently.

So comparing against the pic of the Prime on the dashboard you can see just how bad the GPS in the Prime is compared to a G-Tab (and other tablets) So while everyone beats there head against the wall trying to prove it works you can also see how futile that is. Even a 50% improvement would be half of what the G-Tab’s (or Zoom, or Jetstream) capable of. And I use navigation sometimes twice a week in cities in the U.S. and Europe. If the G-Tab was operating at 50% it would be useless to me (and you too). So god's speed to the developers and to those hoping for an ICS fix. In all my time on XDA I’ve never seen s/w fully overcome a h/w problem. And this my friends is a h/w problem. Anyone else that's used a tablet for navigation feel free to share your expereinces and how they compare to what I've shown.

PSA: Spokane's a podunk town. I strongly recommend against shooting video in a moving car on busy streets.